On To Light Shaping: JP Elario Adds New Light to a Familiar Pathway

On to Light Shaping is a new video series in which get to see 18 renowned portrait and wedding photographer create magic with Profoto Off-Camera Flash. In this video we join photographer JP Elario for a wedding portrait taken on a tree-lined pathway. When you are done watching, click here to see the rest of the series.

JP Elario is a second-generation wedding/portrait photographer based in Albany NY. His father started the business back in the 80’s, and JP – now 33, started shooting weddings when he was eleven.

Elario’s photograph of the bride and groom was taken on a tree-lined pathway he has shot on numerous times, though usually earlier in the day when the sun casts a warmer, low-angle wash of light across the scene. On this particular day, however, the hour was late and the sun had already dropped behind the treetops. With the light quickly fading Elario and his assistants got down to business.

For starters they set up a B1 Off-Camera Flash, which was aimed through a white, front-diffused Profoto Umbrella Deep L at about half-power. Behind the bride and groom was a B2 Off-Camera Flash with a pair of bare-bulb heads splitting the unit’s full-power setting symmetrically. One B2 Head was for backlighting the couple, and the other throwing a wash of light towards the warm-toned tree branches on the left side of the frame.

In order to compress the depth perspective of the portrait, JP mounted one of his favorite portrait lenses – a discontinued Canon EF 200mm/f/1.8L USM onto his Canon EOS 5D Mk III. Using a Profoto Air Remote TTL-C to wirelessly sync with his lighting system, JP set the camera ISO to 320, and shot wide-open at 1/20th-second.

The resulting image features a soft, even light on the couple which is complimented by just the right amount of light trailing off the feather-focused tree branches on the left side of the frame. The ambient light in the background, which was underexposed about 2-stops, helps to steer the viewer’s eye back to the couple. The warm tones of the tree branches also play nicely off of the cooler blue tones of the patches of snow lining the path. The overall effect is magical.